Rogue
by Devielle
Summary: Nightstorm was born a Clan cat, but now she's a rogue. Despite her painful past, she's determined to find a new life... Terrible summary I know, but I didn't want to give anything away... Sequel to Good As Black, but you don't need to read that before this.
1. Chapter 1

Petal

 **Before I begin, I want to say that while reading Good As Black will give you some more information about this story, you can read it without it's predecessor.**

 **Okay, so this is for the people who wanted to know what happens when she leaves the Clans. I can't say I'll spend too much time on this as a) school wishes to destroy all happy writing time for its students and b) Personally, I kinda liked Nightstorm's story outside of the Clans being up to you. But I wasn't quite ready to leave this little black Warrior behind yet so! Welcome… Rogue!**

Nightstorm didn't mean to look back.

She had promised herself that she wouldn't. Then again, she'd also promised herself that she would make her goodbyes to the Clans quick and unemotional, but look how that turned out. She guessed it meant she had zero self-control over herself now.

The Clans territories unravelled beneath her, like a jigsaw finally coming into view. The Lake in the centre was massive, strangely seeming even bigger from farther away. She could see the moor that must be WindClan's, and she banished Nettleskip from her mind for now. There was ThunderClan's forest, the same one that homed the Clan that forced her to hate herself and everyone around her. She felt her thoughts drifting, but didn't stop them. There was one cat there, just one, who was kind and who was Nightstorm's anchor to herself. That cat was dead. Nightstorm shoved her to the back of her head as well, turning it to the other Clans. RiverClan and ShadowClan had no strong bonds with her, other than that they hated her as well as almost every other cat had.

Finally she turned away, and looked a the world beyond her.

 _I can go there now._ Nightstorm thought, a tingle of happiness replacing the moment of sorrow. _The whole world is open to me._

One direction was a Thunderpath; a huge one, with monsters crawling along it. A different way looked sort of like the Clan territory, only she knew the prey there wasn't easy to catch there nor worth it. The final direction was twoleg homes.

She was not going near the Thunderpath. That was final and it wasn't changing.

As much as she felt unhappy about being so close to twolegs and kitty kittypets, the Territory-like area reminded her so much about what Sil- her mentor had taught her about hunting, and right now she was running from that memory. On top of that, she wasn't a Warrior anymore, so she didn't have to obey the Warrior Code. There were some values she held close, like no killing other cats or no killing prey that wasn't going to be eaten, but accepting some kittypet food wasn't one particularly important to her. But emergencies only.

She ran quickly towards the strange buildings. They loomed up over her, and smelt funny. Like… Twolegs.

She snorted. Of course they did. It wasn't like they were going to have a scent of food.

It was the moment she thought that that a whiff of milk drifted past her. Well, sort of like the milk she knew from the nursery. Slightly different.

Interested, she followed it, finally tracking down the source of it on the inside of a Twoleg wall. Sighing, she slipped away.

It was strange going wherever she pleased, without knowing where she was going. No borders or boundaries. She decided she liked the feeling, despite the little bit of fear it came with.

"Hey! You there!" The voice took Nightstorm by surprise. She swirled around, her claws unsheathing themselves.

"Woah, calm down!" The cat laughed. She was sitting on a brick wall, the sun warming her golden fur. "I'm Petal, but my housefolk call me Lucy." She jumped off the wall. "What's your name?"

Staring in surprise, it was an effort to talk. "Nightstorm." She finally managed.

"That's a funny name." Petal frowned. "I think I've heard something like it. Night… Paw or foot or claw or something."

"Why aren't you… y'know, scared?" Nightstorm fiddled with words.

Petal blinked. "Oh, I thought some cat would have told you. Don't worry, about it, I'll fill you in on the way."

She padded off, obviously expecting Nightstorm to follow her.

 _Great StarClan's kits, what has it come to! Kittypets unafraid of Clan cats! Rogues._ She corrected herself. _I'm a rogue now._

She followed she she-cat, and listened to her bright chatter.

"That's Billy's house, he's a grumpy cat but quite nice under it all, and over there's Isabella and Minty, Minty has a crush on Tim, over there, but he has kits with Snowy on the other side of this town, but back to Minty and Isabella, Isabella's nice, she wants to help me but is no good at it, but in that-"

"No good at what?" Nightstorm interrupted. "What do you do?"

"I help rogues and loners passing through." Petal waved her tail. "My garden has all these herbs in it, and I give them to the loners in return for peace. You see, the rules used to be that we stay in our garden and they'd leave us alone. But then they decided that they liked the herbs in my garden so I was allowed to go both in and out if they were allowed in. But then they realised I knew what to do with the herbs, so I heal their wounds and they let all the kittypets wander around was they please. That's how it's been for a few moons now."

Nightstorm stopped. "Thanks for the offer, but a friend has already put some stuff on my wounds."

"Oh, I know, I saw." Petal continued. "But I thought you'd at least want some cream."

"Cream?"

"Have you never had any?" Petal stared at Nightstorm in amazement. "You have to try it! Here!" She clawed her way up a tree, scampered along a branch, and pounced into the garden below.

"If she can do it…" Burning with curiosity, Nightstorm elegantly swung around the tree and into the place below.

It was filled with herbs, growing in lines in square patches of soil. The twoleg den towered above it, with a huge red rectangle near the bottom.

Petal was lapping from a silver bowl near the Rectangle, her fur around her lips white.

"Come on!" She purred. "Try it!"

Cautiously, Nightpaw licked a few drops. The cream was a bit like milk but… well, creamier! She swallowed it happily.

She glanced at the sky, surprised that the sun was leaning downwards now.

"I should be going." She had told herself that she would wander as she pleased, but a sudden desperation to leave the Clans hit her like a tidal wave, and she stepped back. "Thanks, Petal."

"No problem!" Petal began grooming herself.

Nightstorm clawed her way up the plats and bushes, onto the wall. Then she leaped down, and began running.

She had the whole world ahead of her.


	2. Chapter 2

Red monster, white monster, black monster.

The silver moon was full, and it shone brightly, as brightly as the stars alongside it. It's light revealed the tall trees and the shadows they cast, the tiny mounds of earth from hiding prey, and the roots as they pushed up from the ground. It showed the cloudless sky and the silhouettes of birds and bats. As bright as the sun, it glowed, and in its shining rays a raven-black cat stood up.

Standing up, Nightstorm stared around her. She knew where she was. StarClan. She could feel it in her fur, in her bones. It was where she was meant to be. Her Clan roots.

But- no- but she wasn't meant to be here. Her golden eyes spun around wildly. She wasn't a Clan cat- at least, not any more. Why was she here? Were they telling her to go back? But she couldn't. They were so cruel to her there. Again and again ThunderClan had taunted her. For StarClan's sake, they wanted her to be killed! By her own brother!

The moment she thought that her fur pricked up along her spine. Daypaw. Her golden-furred brother who hated her.

Had hated her.

A movement caught Nightstorm's eye. She spun around, eyes glinting. But the moment she saw who it was, she froze.

A cat stepped out of the shadows. She was silver, with one pale white paw. Her thick tail brushed the ground. Her eyes were blue, a soft, gentle blue, and were full of emotion.

"Silentsong…" Nightstorm whispered.

The silver cat padded forward. Her eyes seemed to glow, but they were just reflecting the moon.

"Why am I here?" Nightstorm fought the urge to run to her old mentor, to tell her how much she missed her already.

Silentsong smiled. "Because we have a message for you."

The voice was smooth, but unused. Silentsong rarely spoke. In fact, rarely was an understatement.

"What is it? Do I have to return to the Clans? Silentsong, they were so horrible to me! You can't make me!" Panic swirled around Nightstorm's belly like a storm.

Silentsong shook her head. "I came to tell you this: Your destiny is your own. StarClan will not follow you- and nor should you let us. Leave your past behind you, Nightstorm. Live your life, fall in love, and be happy. You could never be happy in the Clans and that's the last thing we want." She touched her nose to Nightstorm. Her old apprentice breathed in her warm scent. "You are the strongest, bravest cats the Clans have seen. They will remember you, not as the villain they thought you were, but the hero you are.

"When the time comes for you to return, we will be waiting. I will guide you the way, and Nettleskip will be there for you, just as she promised. The Clans will not make you leave them, for you are the one they are waiting for."

Nightstorm closed her eyes. Around her, the dream was melting, like the stream with newleaf.

"You were the only one who ever walked with me, Silentsong. You never even considered the chance that I was evil. Nettleskip was- is a great friend, but only because of you. I will remember you, but not now. When the time comes for me to return, I will, but now? I have to live my life."

Silentsong smiled, the only clear thing in the misty forest.

"Good."

Nightstorm stretched, unsheathing her claws and opening her jaws into a yawn.

Nightstorm had slept in, something she hadn't does in ages. Blinking, she found her way down from the wide branch she'd fallen asleep on. She'd had had doubts, but there was fox-stench on the ground in the evening and she'd had no will to walk on. The branch was strong enough, she'd decided. Jumping to the ground, relief that she had flooded her. The fox-stink was even fouler, and a pile of dung lay by her tree. Nightstorm shuddered, so glad she washed in the stream before climbing her tree. The fox would have scented her for sure, and then what?

Her tummy rumbled, making her realise how long it had been since she'd eaten that mouse. With a tingle of independence, she took off, wrinkling her nose as she passed the dung.

The fox had obviously eaten here- a corpse of a bird lay discarded on the ground. No prey would come near it. Muttering angrily, Nightstorm spun around and followed the stream uphill, away from the corpse.

The sun was about a quarter up when she caught her second whiff of prey. She's lost the first, a mouse, but she could scent squirrel now. Casting her gaze around, she saw the fluffy thing scrambling down a tree. Pushing her belly to the ground, she slid after it. It reached the base of the tree, and sniffed the air. There was a slight breeze, but it was casting Nightstorm's scent away from it. The squirrel scurried through the bushes, finally pausing by the base of another tree. It sniffed the air again, and then the breeze changed.

 _Mouse-brain!_ Nightstorm cursed herself, and jumped on it. It squealed, and tried to claw its way up the bark, but the black Warrior knocked its head against the trunk. The squirrel collapsed, dead.

"My favourite." Nightstorm purred to herself, settling down to eat.

The squirrel was slightly too tough to be perfect, but it filled her belly and that was what mattered. Nightstorm buried the few scraps remaining and stood up, then decided to continue up the stream. Every now and then she'd pause and lap up a few drops, and occasionally she'd break into a sprint when the sun came out, but mostly she was just walking, breathing in the scentmarker-free air and listening to the stream gurgle.

At the pace she was going, she wasn't particularly fast, but she never paused for a break and so covered a lot of ground. The sky was red and streaked with blackish clouds when she left the forest-y area. A crumbly Thunderpath ran in front of her, thin and old and with very few monsters on it. Nightstorm cautiously pressed a paw on it, feeling the rough, hard texture. Strangely though, it was trembling.

With a yowl, Nightstorm scrambled back. A huge shiny red Monster pounced on where she was, growling and snarling. It kicked up tiny stones where it's circular paws screeched the Thunderpath, and Nightstorm screwed up her eyes. Having missed out on its prey it stormed off, still making a horrid racket. Thankfully though, it stayed where it was on the black strip of rock.

Even more careful this time, Nightstorm peeked at the path. It was clear.

An idea hit her and, while keeping an eye out for monsters, she pressed her paw to the Thunderpath.

It was trembling.

She snuck behind a tree, and a white Monster roared by, not noticing her.

Relief and pride made her more confident as she slipped out from the tree, and felt the Thunderpath. It was tremblingg, but only slightly.

Her first choice was not to risk it. But…

A black Monster charged towards her. Screeching out a battle cry, Nightstorm sped across the path. The monster hissed, and made even more noise as it swerved, its back paws scrambling for a grip on the Thunderpath. Its jaws were touching Nightstorm's tail ( _That tail! It will kill me one day, I know it will!_ ) When she rolled off the path and landed on the other side. She turned around and glared triumphantly at the Monster, then watched it in curiosity.

It swung open one of its sides, a bit like a wing. Then, from inside the Monster, a Twoleg emerged, his face bright red. The Twoleg scanned the bushes where Nightstorm crouched. He muttered a few words that were said like Clan cats said Fox Heart, then returned to the Monster and snapped the door closed. With a growl the Monster took off again.

"Twolegs are weird." Nightstorm decided. She turned and inspected her tail. It was slightly red at the tip, but others fine.

Part of her told her to never do that again, while the other part couldn't get over the adrenalin rush.

Well, it wasn't important now. She turned to see what lay ahead, and was met by another strip of Twoleg dens.

Wondering if she would find any more cats like Petal to have a look a her tail, she padded off, eventually deciding to sleep just outside a smaller den.

It seemed safe enough.


	3. Chapter 3

KittyRogues

"What are you doing here?"

The snarl made Nightstorm blink her eyes open, and forced her to fight away the calmness of sleep.

Three toms stood in front of her. They were all so thin that they were little more than furry bones with huge eyes. Their fur was well-cared for, despite the obvious hunger in their eyes.

The one in the front was a blue-grey colour. His eyes were greenish, and a scratch ran across his soft pink nose. He was waving his nose around, near her face, for no apparent reason. Nightstorm decided that he, Blue, was the leader. To his right, a grey cat with dark stripes (Nightstorm changed his name to Stripy) stared at her, but fear suddenly clouded his eyes. To Blue's left a cat a dirty-looking brown tom (now called Dirt) leaned to the ear of the middle one. Nightstorm easily heard his worried mutter.

"Scar, look at her scratches. How many fights must she have been in to get them?"

Nightstorm looked back to Blue's nose, which he had hurriedly retreated when she stood up. _He's proud of the scar. His only scar._ Nightstorm realised with a snort. What kind of rogues were these?

"W- Who are you?" Blue tried to be threatening, but his shaking legs and refusal to meet her eyes gave him away.

"Me?" Nightstorm blinked. "I'm just a rogue, tired after a battle with another cat."

The look on his face made her lie worth it. After all, she had argued with Daypaw, so it wasn't entirely untrue.

"You fought another cat?" Squeaked Stripy. Nightstorm nodded.

"I was hungry, and this other rogue had some food." She shrugged like it was nothing, and, with perfect timing, her tummy grumbled. The cats in front of her practically _flinched._

"W- We don't have anything." Stripy stuttered. Blue turned on him.

"Shut up!" He snapped, then turned back to Nightstorm. "This is our patch, kitty. If you want to… Um, eat… Our Tall-one's food you will have to…" He hesitated again. Obviously, he had no wish to fight Nightstorm. "Uh, not eat it."

Nightstorm stretched, her fur sticking up to reveal more scars littering her skin. Dirty and Stripy whimpered, and Blue cowered. "I'm not hungry for Two-leg's food. I much prefer to hunt for my dinner…" She said calmly.

With that Stripy starting shuffling back. "Hunt?" He gulped. "Like… Eat cats?"

"Cats?" Nightstorm didn't realise he'd thought that. "No, like mice and squirrels and stuff."

"You eat _animals?_ Is that where most of those scars come from? Mice?" Blue seemed to regain his courage. "I got _this_ from a _fox_." He waved his nose around again.

"No, most of the scars were from battles." Nightstorm said carelessly, then turned to a more important topic. "You mean you don't eat prey? What do you eat?"

"Tall-one's scraps, mostly." Dirt answered. "We don't have Tall-one's ourselves, so we can't eat any of the Pet Food the other cats get."

"But that makes up _Stronger._ " Blue interrupted Dirt angrily. "Not weaker."

"You don't hunt?" Nightstorm stared at the cats in front of her in shock. "What kind of rogues are you?"

"Rogues?" Blue shook his head. "We're not rogues."

"No, I don't think you are." Nightstorm agreed. "You're KittyRogues."

"Kittyrogues? What are they?" Blue seemed confused.

"I don't know, I just made it up. But… The definition of it, as of today, is 'rogues too weak to proper rogues'." She sighed at their confused faces. "Look, I know you find it insulting, but unless you can hunt for yourself, defend your territory and fight you're not a rogue." She considered it. "Though, the fact that you have a territory means you can't be a rogue… Well, I guess KittyRogue means you can have a territory." Nightstorm shrugged, and made to leave.

"Wait!" Blue stumbled after her. "You… You only eat mice right? And you aren't hungry. So teach us to hunt mice! We'll be real rogues then!"

"Not just mice." Nightstorm grumbled. "And you can't be real rogues, because you stay where you are." She thought for a moment. "But… I can teach you to hunt, and then you can be real KittyRogues."

"I don't know if I want to be called that…" Blue hesitated, but ran back to Nightstorm as she padded off. "But its better to be something than nothing, right?"

Nightstorm rolled her eyes. "I'm not teaching you."

"Why?" Blue begged.

"Because it takes moons or even seasons of training for an apprentice to become a Warrior- and they're still learning even then."

"Warriors?"

"Forget it. I'm hungry and I'm going to eat."

Nightstorm started walking away. Blue stood behind her for a moment, then started walking slowly after her. She rolled her eyes. If they were going to chase her, she wasn't going to make it easy for them.

She suddenly started running, the morning air cold on her fur, her hardened pads barely brushing the ice-like ground. She spun around corners easily, and within moments Blue and his friends were far behind.

Nightstorm laughed, and trotted proudly into the forest. The trees grew tall, giving her enough shade to shake her fur. She then slowed down and sniffed the air. The breeze blew the scent of a small bird towards her. Then it changed direction and she sniffed those Kittyrogues again.

Nightstorm smirked. They wanted to see how she hunted? She would show them then.

Crouching close to the ground, she crept up to the tiny bird. She darted silently up the tree in a second.

It was then she realised that the tiny bird was just a kit-bird, and that it's mother was on the branch above. The mother was fat, more than twice the size of her chick. Nightstorm grinned and darted up the next branch.

She crept slowly along it, the bird not realising she was there. It was watching its chick from above. When she was a paw-length away from it, she decided to put on a show.

"Hi!" She exclaimed. The bird squawked and flapped its feathers, taking off into the sky. Nightstorm leapt up into the air after it. She grabbed onto its dark feathers with her long claws, and the bird flapped again, desperate to break free of the cat. Unable to carry both its wait and Nightstorm's, the bird fell ungracefully down. Realising if she hit the ground from this hight she'd die, Nightstorm bit the bird's leg with her mouth, and clawed at a nearly branch. She pulled herself onto it, the bird still flapping stupidly in her mouth. She spat out the feathers. "Know when your beaten." She told it, pinning it down with a paw. Then she snapped its neck, killing it for breakfast.

With the bird in her jaw, she pounced down from the tree. She could scent the Kittyrogues in the thorny bushes, looking longingly at the bird she was carrying. She sighed.

"Fine. But I get half of it."

They stayed where they were. "I'm talking about you three!" She called. Awkwardly, they scrambled out the bushes, looking at her in shock.

"How did you know we were there?" Blue asked, unable to take his eyes off the bird. "We were hiding."

"The wind blew you scent towards me." Nightstorm lay down, kicking some of the thin layer of snow out the way.

Blue widened his eyes in surprise. "I didn't even think about that." He admitted.

"When hunting, you have to. It's one of prey's best warning signs that you're here."

Nightstorm watched them. They all looked to Blue, who nodded. Then like lightning they attacked the bird, biting into its feathers and tearing its skin apart. Scraps of meat went everywhere.

"Hold it!" Nightstorm yowled, as ten seconds into it all that remained intact was a pile of bones and blood everywhere. "Look at all the meat! That would be a whole meal!" She growled. The kitty rogues looked embarrassed. "Look, you collect all the scraps. Bring them into a pile here. You can eat that, I'll have what remains on the carcass."

The cats blinked slowly then crept around collecting the meat. When Nightstorm had finished eating she let them have what remained. This time they ate slower.

"What are your names?" She asked.

Blue looked up. "I'm Fearsome Battle Scar." He said proudly, waving his nose around. "I chose it because it was fearsome, and would scare other cats off."

"I'm Bloodthirsty!" Called Stripy.

"And I'm Killer!" Announced Dirt.

Nightstorm shook her head. "No. They don't really strike fear."

The three cats look at her in confusion. "What?"

"You shouldn't name yourself for the fear of the name." Nightstorm explained. "Give yourself a name, and create yourself a fearful reputation. The name will become feared along with it. Trying to choose a fearful name just makes you sound stupid."

"So… What should we call ourselves?" Blue stuttered.

"You-" Nightstorm waved her tail. "Are Blue, after your fur. Bloodthirsty, you are Stripy. And Killer, Dirt."

"But I don't want to be Dirt." Dirt grumbled.

"Then choose a non-stupid name." Nightstorm growled. Dirt thought for a moment.

"Web?" He asked, glancing at a Dew-covered web.

"Actually, that's good."

Nightstorm paused, looking at them. "Fine, I'll teach you."

 **This chapter was meant to be longer, but I decided to split it into two. Sorry about that.**


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